Apple MacBook Pro 2016 – Everything you need to know

Apple MacBook Pro 2016 – Price, Full Specifications, Features and more

Apple MacBook Pro 2016 – Price, Full Specifications, Features and more

Apple Finally announced three new MacBook on Thursday at its event on October 27. The three models of the new Apple MacBook Pro 2016 were announced – one model with a 15-inch screen and two models with a 13-inch screen.

The rumours of big changes to the popular laptop were proved correct, as Tim Cook and Phil Schiller revealed the new product in front of an excited, gadget-hungry crowd.

Apple’s newest MacBook Pro, which is the thinnest and the lightest one yet. It’s been a very long time since Apple meaningfully redesigned its flagship laptop, which has felt somewhat neglected with only the addition of a Force Touch trackpad as a major change in the past two years. But today Apple is rectifying all that in a big way with a fundamentally redesigned MacBook Pro.

The new MacBook Pro has seen the exit of the function key on the keyboard, which is replaced by a new ‘Retina-quality’ multi-touch display – known as the Touch Bar. The new MacBook Pro also sees the integration of a larger Force Touch trackpad. The new Touch ID feature on the MacBook Pro allows users to quickly unlock the Mac and use Apple Pay on the web.

The extraordinary feature is a new OLED touchpad above the keyboard that Apple is calling a “Touch Bar”, which can be can be customised depending on how you want to use it.

The Touch Bar replaces the traditional function keys, so can be used to adjust volume and brightness. It will also suggest words when you’re typing out messages and flash up some emoji suggestions.

The reason for the two 13-inch versions is that Apple is using one of them (the one without a Touch Bar – more on that later) to replace the MacBook Air.

But other two models have a new Force Touch trackpad and feature Touch ID – the fingerprint reader also used on iPhones – meaning you can sign into websites and pay for items with Apple Pay.

Finger Work

The new Pro, which comes with either a 13- or 15-inch screen, does look like the last model. Which is to say, it still looks like a laptop. But as soon as you open the thing up, crack your knuckles, and put fingers to keys, you won’t be confused anymore. Actually, you’ll figure it out before even that, as soon as you see that massive new trackpad. But the keys really sell the change. The new Pro has the same keyboard as the super-thin MacBook, though it’s been tweaked a bit from the smaller model, and has a surprisingly satisfying amount of travel, but there’s no doubt your fingers are going to have to get used to a little less clack. Those shallow butterfly keys feel somewhere between the traditional mechanical keyboard and the on-screen keys on your iPhone.

Speaking of on-screen keyboards! Instead of function keys, the row of F1-F12s, you don’t care about and media controls you do, the new MacBook Pro has a small touch-friendly strip that apps can use to display quick controls and information. It’s called the Touch Bar. There’s a Touch ID fingerprint reader on the right side of the strip, too right above the Delete key. That feels dangerous.

The whole idea is going to take some getting used to: each app does different things, in different ways, to different effect. In Mail, you can quickly tap on the Touch Bar to compose a message; in Pages, it’s a super-fast way to access a bunch of formatting options. In Photos, you can use the Touch Bar to quickly scrub through a bunch of images, and it’s a really nifty way to move through a timeline in Final Cut. A bunch of demos on stage at Apple’s event featured a number of people doing a sort of two-handed dance, one twiddling on the my-god-it’s-huge touchpad and one on the Touch Bar. How people will use this thing, and what the right features and mechanisms will be, will take some time to sort out.

No standard USB port

First the headphone jack on the iPhone 7, now this. Instead of a standard USB port, the MacBook Pro has four USB-C ports. All four sockets can be used to charge the laptop or attach USB-C, Thunderbolt, HDMI and USB connectors. You’ll need an adapter, of course, but these can be purchased for less than £20 online.

The USB-C port is smaller and more rounded than the traditional socket. While it is not the first time Apple has done this – last year’s 12-inch MacBook had just the one USB-C port for charging and connections – getting rid of traditional USB on the more workmanlike MacBook Pro could prove unpopular.

The new MacBooks are thinner, lighter and come with a larger, touch-sensitive trackpad. They are available in both silver and space grey. The display is 67 percent brighter with 25 percent better colour.

Apple MacBook Pro 2016 – Price, Full Specifications and Features

13-inch MacBook Pro

It’s 14.9mm thick, making it 17 percent thinner than the previous generation of the MacBook Pro. It also weighs 1.36 kg, 0.23kg than the previous generation.

15-inch MacBook Pro

It’s 15.5mm thick, which is 14 percent thinner than its predecessor. It’s also 20 percent smaller in volume and weighs 1.8kg. Everything is available for pre-order now.

13-inch MacBook Pro, thin

The thin version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro costs £1,449 and is available to pre-order from today. It will start shipping immediately.

13-inch MacBook Pro, larger

The scaled-up version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which includes the Touch Bar and TouchID, starts at £1,749 and is available to pre-order from today. It will ship in two to three weeks.

15-inch MacBook Pro

The high-end version of the MacBook Pro starts at £2,349 and is available to pre-order from today. It will ship in two to three weeks.

13-inch MacBook Pro

The 13-inch MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar features a Retina display with a 2560 x 1600 pixels resolution and is powered by a 2.0 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor. The notebook features 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD (customisable to 1TB in the US) and comes with Intel Iris Graphics 540. The battery life on the notebook is claimed to be 10 hours (while on the wireless web) and will be running Apple’s latest Mac OS Sierra. The 13-inch MacBook Pro weighs 1.37 kg, will come in Silver and Space Grey colours and is priced at $1,499 (approx Rs 1 lakh).

13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Apple MacBook Pro 2016 – Price, Full Specifications and Features

MacBook Pro 13-inch with Touch Bar will be coming in two variants priced at $1,799 and $1,999 respectively and will feature a 13-inch display with 2560 x 1600 pixels resolution. Both notebooks will be powered by a 2.9 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor coupled with an Intel Iris Graphics 550 card. The notebooks will be coming with 8GB of RAM and 256GB/512GB SSD storage respectively. The battery life, weight and colour options are same as the other 13-inch MacBook Pro.

Apple MacBook 15-inch MacBook Pro

The 15-inch MacBook Pro will have two variants (both featuring the new Touch Bar) and will be priced at $2,399 and $2,799 respectively. The notebooks will be powered by a 2.6GHz/ 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor respectively – feature 8GB RAM and 256GB/512GB SSD storage. The notebook features Intel HD Graphics 530 as well as an option for AMD Radeon 450, 455 or 460 processors for Graphics. The new MacBook Pro also runs Mac OS Sierra. The notebooks have 10 hours of battery life and weigh 1.83kg.

All new MacBook Pro computers will feature four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Apple has done away with the MagSafe charger, and you can’t plug your iPhone into the MacBook Pro anymore or basically anything else that has USB port on one end. Apple wants you to rely on adapters to plug your old cables into the new MacBook Pro.